Illustrative photo of new born babies in a Jerusalem hospital. (Flash90)

The fertility rates of Jewish and Arab women were identical for the first time in Israeli history in 2015, according to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday to mark International Child Day.

Jewish and Arab women had given birth to an average of 3.13 children as of last year, the report said.

In 2000, the fertility among the country’s Arab population stood at 4.3 children per woman, while the fertility rate of Jewish women was 2.6. Since then the gap has narrowed as the Arab rate dropped off and the Jewish fertility rates steadily increased.

At the end of 2015 there were 2.8 million children in Israel aged between 0-17, amounting to 33 percent of the population, of whom roughly two million (71.3%) were Jewish, 718,000 were Arab (25.7%) and 84,000 (3.0%) classified as others.

Israel’s fertility rate is the highest among the developed countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to data on the organization’s website. The youth population was the second highest in the OECD behind only Mexico in 2013, the most recent year with available data.

There were on average 2.4 children per household across the country. The city of Beit Shemesh had the highest average with 3.8 children per household, Bnei Brak next with 3.4 and in Jerusalem, the capital, there were three children per household. All three cities have large ultra-Orthodox populations who tend to have larger families than the national average.

The coastal city of Bat Yam had the lowest youth population with just 1.8 children per household.

The income of households with children was 1.3 times higher than homes without, NIS 17,658 ($4,595) a month compared to NIS 13,624 ($3,545), but the expenses were 1.4 times as high standing at NIS 14,677 ($3,819) compared to NIS 10,422 ($2,712).

News

Tuesday 31 October 2017

Eight people have been killed and at least 11 injured in an "act of terror" after a man drove a pick-up truck onto a path for cyclists in New York city.

The 29-year-old driver of the truck was shot by police in the abdomen and taken into custody after he crashed the truck into a school bus and fled his vehicle, according to New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill.

Speaking at a press conference, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the attack was "a particularly cowardly act of terror".

The mayor said: "It's a very painful day in our city. Horrible tragedy on the West Side.

"Let me be clear, based on the information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror and a particularly cowardly act of terror. Aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them.

"We at this moment based on the information we have, we know of eight innocent people who have lost their lives. And over a dozen more injured."

Mr O'Neill said the driver was armed with a paintball gun and a pellet gun.

The driver hit a school bus, injuring two children and two adults on board before exiting the pick-up truck.

The man was shot in the abdomen by a uniformed officer before being taken into custody.

The commissioner said a statement made by the suspect when he exited the vehicle was "consistent" with a terrorist attack.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said there was no evidence to suggest a wider plot or wider scheme.

US President Donald Trump said the attacker was "very sick" and a "deranged person".

British Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted: "Appalled by this cowardly attack, my thoughts are with all affected. Together we will defeat the evil of terrorism. UK stands with #NYC."

A police spokesman posted a photo showing a white pick-up truck on the bike path with its front end mangled and the hood crumpled.

The rented truck had logos of the Home Depot hardware store chain.

Mangled and flattened bicycles littered the bike path, which runs parallel to the West Side Highway on the western edge of Manhattan along the Hudson River.

One witness told reporters at the scene that he heard about five gunshots before seeing a large man being taken into custody.

"He seemed very calm," the witness said. "He was not putting up a fight."

A witness told ABC Channel 7 that he saw a white pick-up truck drive south on the bike path at full speed and hit several people.

A video apparently filmed at the scene and circulated online showed scattered bikes on the bike path and at least two people lying on the ground.